Petruccio's Secret
by City Girl Dreamer
Summary: Because there is a reason as to why Petruccio wants those feathers, and this is it. Family fluff!


**Okay, so this is to prove that I'm not dead. I am still here and writing. Just never have I written for this fandom before.**

**Anyway, after completing Assassin's Creed 1 & 2, I can successfully say that I am now obsessed. Like literally and totally obsessed.**

**So this is my first story for AC and I ended up doing something that wasn't yaoi, or humour, or even crack. The sequence about Petruccio and his feathers kinda left a lot of people hanging, so I decided to write about why he wanted the feathers in the first place.**

**So...yeah.**

_**Warning:** Fluff...ummm...that's about it really. Family fluff._

_**Disclaimer:**_ _After extensive searching of each game box, I found no contract declaring I was the owner of Assassin's Creed...yet..._

**Anyways, onto the show then!**

**ENJOY!  
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Petruccio's Secret

He wasn't allowed out of bed. His mother would surely follow through with her threat and tie him down if she ever caught him, and Maria Auditore was a force to be reckoned with, if she ever got the chance to display her anger. Of course, she never really got the chance, because she never really got angry. No matter how many times he sneaked out of bed, his mother would merely sigh in in despair and frogmarch him straight back to his bedroom.

Which is why, of course, he had to be extremely quiet. Lest Maria Auditore really did decide to follow through such threats. Petruccio had done this a hundred times before, so it was only logical that he knew every floorboard that made a noise and every step that would make a sound. He crept out of his room steadily and quickly made his way to his brother's room. Petruccio hadn't been allowed out of bed for three whole days and now he was simply about to die from boredom.

He no longer had a cough and he could actually move without losing his breath, obviously he was much better and thus, he could quite easily play around with his brothers without fear of getting sicker. With stealth that would make his father proud, Petruccio opened the door to Federico and Ezio's room without a single creak being made. Unfortunately for him, his joy was short-lived as he found that his brother's room was severely lacking something.

His brothers.

Sighing with discontent, Petruccio kicked at the dust on the rug and folded his arms. Really, this was so inconvenient; the minute he felt that slightest bit better, and his brothers decide that that was the very minute to be out and about. He couldn't go and play with Claudia as she almost always told on him. His father would send him to his room for appearance's sake if his mother was there, but would always come up to take him out onto the roof for a few minutes. Too bad his father was out on business, leaving only his sister and mother at home. Sulking slightly, Petruccio crossed the room to gaze at the window. His room didn't have a window as the doctor feared that the spores from the outside would only make him worse.

Naturally that didn't prevent him from sneaking out every once in a while. Or at the very least sneaking out to gaze from the nearest window. Opening it up and swinging it open, Petruccio smiled with delight as the breeze ruffled his clothes and hair. Biting his lip, he threw a nervous glance to the door before climbing up onto the sill. His mother would surely be furious if she found out that he had broken this many rules. However, he was an Auditore and as such, rules never really meant much to him.

Instead, he kicked his legs with delight as the fresh air filled his sense. Being stuck inside a stuffy room had him longing for freedom. It was one of the many reasons for why he loved being outside. Outside meant you could be free, could do whatever you wanted without fear of being tied to a bed. Petruccio sighed peacefully, glancing around at street below. It was midnight and hardly anyone was around. Claudia would be in bed or perhaps at Duccio's having another argument. His mother would be in bed reading, or writing another letter to some artist whose work she had fallen in love with.

That meant Petruccio was alone. Being free was fine for a while, but if you had no one to enjoy it with, then it was rather quite pointless. Freedom should be celebrated with others and—

_Scree...Scree..._

Gasping and clutching at his heart, Petruccio snapped his head to the right to see a beautiful, majestic bird sit itself down on the roof's ledge. Petruccio gazed at it with envy. It was a long and deep seated desire of his, to become a bird. To be able to fly and enjoy freedom to the fullest. He always saw his brothers as birds. Carefree and always smiling, always living life as a game to be played. Petruccio wished he were like the bird, with feathers of his own. He had already collected a couple of feathers, keeping them safe in a box under his bed. He loved stroking them, loved how they represented everything he wanted._  
_

Stretching his arms out, he imagined himself swooping down and taking flight, high above _Firenze _and above the whole if _Italia _if he so wished it! He would have his feathers, he would earn his wings and he would fly, fly, fly...never to be confined to another bed in his life. The bird caught his attention with another noise, beckoning him to pay attention to it.

Petruccio eyed the bird. It was beautiful, with soft, white wings and large, golden eyes. He knew what sort of bird it was, and knew that it was as deadly as it was beautiful. Watching the eagle with a longing look, Petruccio slowly stretched out his arm to touch it, to stroke it. As he leant out of the window towards the creature, he slipped on the ledge and gasped with horror and his lower body slipped and dangled dangerously over the edge of the roof. The eagle cawed and took flight as his gasp spooked it and sent it on its way. Petruccio watched it leave mournfully, clutching the roof's ledge tightly, lest he fell to his death.

Which really wasn't good as his mother would most definitely know that he had secretly left the safe haven that was his bed and would most probably not only tie him to the bed, but chain him up as well. If he, you know, hadn't died from the impact of course. Knuckles going white from clutching the edge, Petruccio kicked wildly in the air, desperate to pull himself up. His upper body strength was non-existent as his illness had eaten up all muscular strength he had.

Eyes stinging with unshed tears, Petruccio whimpered as his hands grew moist with sweat, slowly slipping from the roof. His throat was closing up as a lump began to build up, his chest constricting and suffocating him. He was going to die. He was going to fall and die and he'll never get the chance to get better. He needed to get better...he wanted to be like his older siblings; free from illness and able to live a normal life.

Hot tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he realised that his grip was dying. A loud caw sounded above him, startling him and causing him to lose his grip. Petruccio cried out in sheer horror, seeing an eagle circle around him as he began to fall...

He clenched his eyes shut...

He hoped it wouldn't hurt...

"PETRUCCIO!"

...

...

...a warm, strong hand gripped tightly onto his. Federico's hand. With Ezio's voice! Cracking his eyes open slowly, Petruccio felt relief overcome him and he almost sobbed his heart out as he realised that he wasn't dead, he wasn't going to die. His brothers had come to save him! Federico lifted him up and onto the roof effortlessly, and pulled him into a warm and firm hug. Petruccio was trembling with fear and nerves, when he felt the envelope his entire body, protecting him from everything.

"I only wanted to touch the bird..." he muttered, his voice breaking from unborn sobs. Ezio sighed, clenching his fists and willing away the fear that had gripped his heart. Another second, just another second and Petruccio would have been out of Federico's reach. All for the sake of wanting to touch an eagle. A bird that probably would have bitten off Petruccio's fingers anyway, if given the chance.

"Little brother needs to learn that some things should only be seen, not touched," Federico stated, his voice firm, yet warm. Like his hug. Inside however, he was quivering like a leaf. God, it was mere luck on his side that he managed to catch Petruccio in time. Pulling away slightly, Petruccio gazed down to his lap and sniffed miserably.

"B-But...I only wanted to...I—" he started, but Ezio didn't let him finish.

"Should be in bed, or would you like another lecture from mother?" he asked trying to make light of an awful situation. He failed sadly, as Petruccio shivered, imagining his mother's disappointed look, her horrified face when she found out that he had almost...almost...

"Little brother, you frightened us. You must promise to never do that again," Federico said, his tone stern, resembling their father's whenever mother was around. Petruccio sniffed and nodded, unable to look up into either brother's eye.

"I thought you two never got scared," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes roughly with his sleeve. Ezio shook his head and crouched down, taking Petruccio's chin between his fingers and forcing him to look up into deep, honey-coloured eyes.

"Petruccio, even strong, brave and handsome young men like us get scared from time to time," Ezio responded, cocking his head slightly with a grin. Petruccio gave him a weak smile in return. Modesty was trait long forgotten in the House of Auditore and his brothers never let him forget it.

"Forget scared, you terrified us. What was it about a silly bird that had you almost dying for?" Federico asked, his brows furrowing with concern. His grip on Petruccio's arms never wavered, only gripping more firmly with each passing second.

"I...I didn't want to just touch it though. I wanted to be it! I want to fly like it!" Petruccio answered, his tone passionate and his words sincere and true. Ezio grinned at the answer, knowing how frustrated Petruccio could get when he was quarantined in his room. Being bedridden left you with little else to do but think and imagine yourself anywhere else but in a bed.

"So, you want to fly, eh?" he asked, amusement lacing his tones. God, Ezio didn't really want to imagine Petruccio carrying out a, as Federico put it, 'Leap of Faith'. Especially after seeing him almost fall to his death. Petruccio nodded eagerly, his eyes lighting up with hope and desire.

Federico laughed, a rich noise that filled Petruccio from top to bottom. "One day, I will teach you to fly. One day, little brother will be able to fly even from the top of _Campanile di Giotto_!" he declared brightly, running a hand through Petruccio's hair. The youngest smiled with delight, his very heart skipping a beat at the thought of being able to fly from the top of the highest building in all of _Firenze_!

When Ezio finally put him to sleep, Petruccio found that he couldn't. He was too busy counting down the seconds until he was old enough to fly.

Old enough to grow wings of his own.

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**Drabble-y, drabble-y goodness.**

**I adored Petruccio. His 'OvO' face causes me to fall in love each and every time I replay the game.**

**Thus concludes as to why Petruccio wants his feathers. In my opinion, being bedridden for most of his short will leave him desiring freedom quite a lot. Feathers from a bird symbolism that freedom quite well, methinks.**

**But that's just my opinion. Meh...**

**Perty please review!**

**Love City Girl**

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
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